If you need to know the value of Chris Copeland to the Knicks and their small-ball lineup, all you needed to do was watch Game 5 against the Pacers Thursday, when he had 13 points and four board, helping key a season-extending win for the Knicks.

Even if coach Mike Woodson didn’t recognize Copeland’s value (he had used him in a limited role this postseason) other teams did — which is going to make it tougher to keep Copeland in a Knicks uniform this summer.

The Knicks will extend Copeland his $900,000 qualifying offer to keep him restricted so they can match an offer. But they may be prohibited from matching any offer more than $3 million.

They would have to use one of their precious exceptions — the $1.9 million biannual exception or the $3 million mini mid-level exception given to luxury taxpayers. The Knicks don’t have the full $5 million mid-level because of their lousy cap situation.

The Knicks only get to add one player this summer at the $3 million exception — is Copeland worth that and the need they must fill the most?

Plus, if another team comes in with a $4 million a year offer for three or four years, the Knicks simply cannot match. It’s not allowed under league rules.

And in a league where a big man — Copeland is 6’9” — who can space the floor as a three point shooter has real value, the idea of $4 million a year for him is not unreasonable at all.

Which is to say, Copeland’s impressive run might have played him off the Knicks.